Purpose

It is recommended that Cabinet:
 

Approves the adoption and
publication of the Managing Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy
to support staff and establish appropriate boundaries in customer
interactions.

 

Approves the adoption and
publication of the Complaints Policy to standardise complaints
handling across the Council.

 

Agrees the commencement date for
both policies.

 

Agrees that both policies will be
subject to regular officer review to ensure continued effectiveness
and alignment with best practice.

 

Decision

RESOLVED:
 
1.   
That Cabinet approves the adoption and public publication of the
Complaints Policy, which sets out the Council’s corporate
complaints process and explains how statutory Adult Social Care and
Children’s Social Care complaints are handled under their
respective legislative frameworks, ensuring clarity, fairness,
accountability, and opportunities for organisational learning.
 
2.   
That Cabinet approves the adoption and public publication of the
Managing Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy, which provides a
proportionate and legally robust framework for identifying and
managing persistent, abusive, or otherwise unreasonable customer
behaviour, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of staff while
maintaining fair access to services.
 
3.   
That Cabinet delegates the approval of minor updates to the
policies, such as amendments required by legislative changes or to
reflect best practice, to the Director of Customer Services in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.
 
Reasons for
Decisions:
 
The
policies will deliver a consistent, transparent, and accessible
approach to complaint handling and to managing unreasonable
customer behaviour. This improves residents’ access to fair
redress, increases public confidence in Council decision-making,
protects staff wellbeing, reduces service disruption, and enables
the Council to learn from feedback and drive service improvements,
in line with the No One Left Behind and High Performing Council
priorities.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select
Committee)